Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Tuesday A.M. Quickie:Scandal-riffic!

Girardi out in Florida: No big news here. (His replacement is likely going to be Braves bench coach Fredi Gonzalez.)

The big question, of course, is where will the presumptive 2006 NL Manager of the Year end up? My bet is the Cubs, with the Nats a darkhorse.

Grimsley denies naming Clemens, Pettitte: The "Clemens/Roids!" story is quickly morphing into one where the top angle is that the L.A. Times pretty much blew this story completely.

And the newspaper did. You know, "bloggers" take a lot of grief from critics and cranks in mainstream media for rumor-mongering or firing before aiming.

I can't think of a moment of sports-blog journalism as significantly screwed up as this one from the Times. And, in fact, it's far worse; isn't the Times supposed to be reputable?

Used to be reputable, I should say.

A-Rod batting 6th: It doesn't matter where A-Rod is batting. If the Yankees don't win the World Series, no matter how A-Rod does in the playoffs -– well or poorly -- he'll be blamed.

And if the Yankees DO win the World Series, no matter how A-Rod does along the way -- well or poorly -- he'll never be accepted.

The upshot? A-Rod can't win -- and I think he might even know that. But wouldn't that be the ultimate release from pressure? 6th is a gift.

Amare Stoudemire has new knee stiffness: Amare is arguably the most physically gifted player in the NBA, but it looks like he'll also end up being one of those all-time great "if only he was healthy, what could have been...?" players.

Another reason why Gilbert Arenas is my favorite player in the NBA: Because he's piping thin air into his sea-level house, in order to replicate mountain-training.

(If only "Agent Zero"* would pipe in recording of LeBron's trash-talking while Arenas is practicing his would-be playoff game-winning free-throws, he might be on to something.)

* – Thanks, Wizznutzz!

Pete Rose admits he took "greenies": Wait, is this really news? EVERYONE TOOK GREENIES! EVERYONE! It was MLB's performance-enhancer scandal before "performance enhancer" was a phrase. Correction: It was a scandal for DECADES, and everyone looked the other way.

The fact that MLB banned amphetamines (or "greenies") should undercut every nostalgic fan's (or player's or critic's) argument that somehow baseball's recent "Steroid Era" was new or different... or worse.

Greenies were simply the PEDs of their day; if Roids or HGH had been available in the 1950s like greenies were, you bet your ass it would have been as widely used as in the late 90s – probably more so.

CFB Game of the Week (LSU at Florida) Update: It helps that the CFB G.O.T.W. dovetails with my personal favorite team.

The Gators were hurting at RB, because starter DeShawn Wynn was injured against Alabama and was doubtful against LSU. This is huge, because UF has a thin RB corps as it is – and if last season is any indicator, Chris Leak needs a running game to help offset the way LSU will crack down on the passing.

Wynn is still questionable – but at least it's an upgrade. Don't know how effective he'll be; for a player of bruising size, he's a bit delicate.

18 comments:

I, too, bet on Girardi ending up in Chicagoland. This is exactly what the Cubs need (not to mention someone who KNOWS how to handle a pitching staff).

Of course this story is getting all messed up and out of whack. What else did everyone expect? It still does not mean there is speculation behind 50% or more of all MLB players. And, if anyone thinks MLB is the only sport with this problem...come out from under that rock!

Here's an interesting tidbit...what if ARod has one or two game winning hits (including a "walk-off" homer) during the series, and the Yanks still lose. Would they still blame him? I think it could turn a little.

Amare = Grant Hill with a little more ahtleticism.

Lastly, the 5 game is a good solution. The next closest length was only 2 games for an on-the--field action...so this is a warranted increase in length...and not SO much that it's unreasonable.

On his show yesterday, Cowherd said that Haynesworth shouldn't be suspended at all since he apologized immediately and "no one was hurt." People were calling in and calling him a moron and Cowherd kept saying, "No one was hurt. I don't care if they could have gotten hurt. No one did. I can't get in trouble for thinking about killing someone." Umm, yeah you can Colin.

The last place that Girardi needs to be is Wrigley. The Cubs are owned by the Chicago Cubune (er...Tribune). There is no wall of seperation between the journalists and the team. Last year, a writer at the Trib was YELLED AT by the teams GM for writing a negative article about the team's play. You really think they will keep Girardi around if he fights back? Heck no, they'll can him and bring in someone else, proclaiming that this is the year the Cubs win it all. That way, they can continue to sell the tickets through their own scalper to fans at $50 each to see the worst team in the NL.

You went to Northwestern and Florida is your favorite team? That is lame.

His wife is a UF alum.

As for Girardi, while he did do some great things in Miami this year, I don't understand why cubs fans believe he's going to turn their situation around.

He had 3 great arms, some of the best young hitters in the game, and a massive die hard fan base...Well scratch the last one.

The Cubs are lacking a lot right now, including a good training staff. I just believe that anyone would struggle in Chicago right now because they don't have the pieces in line to be a successful team right now.

Actually his wife didn't go to UF, but she's from Gainesville. Which really, ACRs can be a lot bigger diehards than most students/alums anyway.

I'm not trying to reverse jinx the Gators, I swear, but I honestly believe we're better without Wynn. Urban Meyer has an overinflated sense of what Wynn is capable of this year, and I'm not sure why. Especially if Percy Harvin is back, look for the coaches to be forced to go to the air (and run a lot of screen passes and end-arounds) a lot more. They've been going to the 2-yard-run-up-the-gut too much lately, and this injury could actually force the coaches into better playcalling.

The Pete Rose story is my favorite of the past week, just for the comedy value that I see in it. Remember in high school, when you'd be talking with your friends, and there was this kid that nobody really liked who kept chiming in at the most inappropriate times with dumb comments? And then you and your friends would stare at him for a while, unsure of how to respond, before going on as if nothing has happened? That's Pete Rose right now - the kid nobody likes chiming in on an issue he doesn't have any business talking about. I think it's hilarious.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.